


A Potion a Day

by CrzA, Scarpath



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Spends Time As A Cat, Catrien, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Reveals Happen Throughout The Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-11-21 13:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11358450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrzA/pseuds/CrzA, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarpath/pseuds/Scarpath
Summary: After Papillon was defeated Ladybug and Chat Noir have taken to protecting the city of Paris from the likes of witches and mythical creatures. When one witch hunt goes awry, Chat’s name becomes more appropriate than one might think. What’s Ladybug to do with her partner now walking on four legs?PS: Marinette’s room has a bathroom, don’t question it





	1. Blame the Frogs on the Cat

It was a warm night as Chat Noir jumped across the rooftops of Paris with the aid of his baton. The black clad superhero felt his heart beating hard and fast within his chest. He was unsure if this was just the regular adrenaline that rushed through his veins every time he put on the suit or if it was the even more familiar feeling of excitement at the prospect of meeting his Lady. In the years they’d been fighting together his feelings for her had only grown. He didn’t think it was possible for him to love her even more, but every time he told himself ‘this is it’, she proved him wrong. And he wasn’t about to fight her on that.

He came to a sudden stop when off in the distance he spotted a flash of red, zipping towards to Eiffel Tower where they usually met for patrols much like the one tonight. The corners of his lips pulled, showing off his bright smile and he leaped towards her, always following close behind her.

“Well hello there, Minou.” Ladybug said, gesturing for him to fall into step behind her. “I think I’ve finally found where the witch has been hiding. Follow me.”

She jumped across the roofs of Paris in an intricate dance, keeping to the best places for Chat to follow without even a thought. They leapt and flew through the air with a beautiful grace that spoke of many years of practice together. She reveled in the taste of the wind as it blew past, and the slight tinkle of the bell that could only be heard if you knew what to listen for.

It was all too soon that their late night run was up and she arrived at the witch's lair.

Chat Noir looked around and frowned. “You know, I was expecting something spookier. Like a cave entrance with tiny shrunken skulls hanging off the corners… Not a pink mansion with freaking rosebushes and lilies on the windowsills. And certainly not a Welcome mat by the door.”

“This isn’t the middle ages, Chat. If witches had as many brain cells as you, I’m sure we wouldn’t be here right now.” Ladybug said, her tone betraying the joke in her words.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I’ll have you know I’m at the top of my class! Good looking  _ and  _ smart? Come on, admit it, I’m a great catch!” He winked at her, flexing as well for good measure, he had to drive his point home after all.

“I’m sure you are, chaton. I’m sure you are.” Ladybug said, before turning her attention back to the pink mansion. “Man, this thing really is an eyesore though. Let’s get this over with so we can get to bed. I’ve got a test tomorrow.”

She pressed forward, using her yoyo as a grappling hook to get over the wall.

“Curious, me too. It’s anatomy, want to help me study, my Lady?” He quipped, wiggling his eyebrows at her from the spot where he balanced himself on his baton.

“Ugh, not like that.”

With a flourished flip, he jumped down next to her, landing perfectly on his feet. He moved past her on quiet feet, climbing to one of the windows. With a claw he picked its lock which opened with a satisfying ‘click’. Pushing the window up with as much care as he could manage he turned back to his partner. “Ladies first.” He smiled, topping it off with a small bow.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Ladybug said, worming her way into the mansion. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, let’s get to work.”

Chat Noir nodded wordlessly, his expression turning to a more serious one as he pattered through the halls. When they came to a staircase that leads to different paths he gestured to himself and his left then to her and his right, indicating that they should split up to be more efficient in their search. In a mansion this big it would take all night to search all the rooms for the Focus that allowed this witch her powers otherwise.

“Text me if you think you’ve found a clue.” A quick flash of the yoyo was the quick good-bye as Ladybug zipped off in the direction indicated. She searched the rooms quickly, trying not to make too big of a mess that would alert the witch to their presence early. She didn’t know wether to be amused or annoyed when she heard the sounds of life downstairs in the basement.  _ ‘Of course. Witch’s cave. Can’t break the stereotype.’ _

**‘Found her. Basement.’** Ladybug sent a quick text, and prepared to wait at the top of the stairs.

**‘Figures. How much do you want to bet there’s gonna be frogs? I’ll give you ten euros.’** Chat’s reply flashed in seconds before he was making his way towards Ladybug.

**‘Ewww nooooo’** Ladybug responded childishly.

The boy met his partner where she stood, leaning on her shoulder with a smirk. “Frogs not your thing? Don’t worry, you’ve got the black cat for yourself.” He smirked, nudging her side with his hip.

“If there are any down there, I’m blaming you.” She said, before braving the steps, yoyo at the ready. It was moments like this that she was glad that the suit enhanced her coordination- otherwise she’d be freaking out at the steep stairwell that lacked a handrail.

When she reached the door at the bottom, she glanced back at her partner before taking the door knob. She threw it open, having no clue what to expect.

What greeted her was definitely a less modern witch. Long black robes, pointy hat, bubbly cauldron, the works. It was actually kind of impressive that she managed to keep the fire under that thing! Bottles were lined around the room, and Ladybug knew that she’d have to be careful, as if those popped open, who knew what might happen.

“Well well well, what do we have here? A couple of visitors to my lovely little cove?” The witch cawed out in the distinctive witch voice.

“Yeah Chat, this is who we were looking for. She’s the picture of a Focus Witch.”

“Yikes, no kidding. Have you seen the size of that wart? Well sorry to be the one to have to ruin the party, but no black magic allowed and all that jazz. You wouldn’t happen to want to be a sweetheart and tell us where your Focus is, right?”

The witch grimaced and picked up a bottle filled with some unidentified green gunk, throwing it straight at Chat’s head, which he ducked effortlessly away from. “Yeah, didn’t think so.” He sighed, jumping into the darkened room headfirst.

“On the bright side though, no frogs, my Lady!” As soon as those words left his mouth the witch conjured up a spell and a cloud burst above his face into several toads. “Okay, scratch that.” He scowled, throwing the ones that had fallen on him into a corner.

“Okay, I’m definitely blaming you on that one.” Ladybug said in a deadpan tone, jumping into the fray. She dodged a stray bottle that stank when it hit the wall behind her, and managed to lasso the witch’s arm and yank her closer. It was a simple matter to finish tying her into a full hold, and Ladybug was somewhat impressed with her speed in tackling this one.

She reached for the hat where she suspected the Focus that corrupted the woman was, not realizing that she was still holding a bottle. As she went to pull the gem that she felt hiding in the hat out, the witch twisted, launching the bottle at her with a cackle.

Chat Noir saw the motion and his body moved of its own accord, launching him towards Ladybug with a “Watch out!” as he threw himself at her. He was fast enough to push his partner out of the way but unfortunately not quite so to avoid the projectile himself. He cried out when the bottle broke on his shoulder, feeling the gooey substance running down his arm, slimy and sticky. He shook it off with a disgusted grunt.

His brows furrowed in confusion. Was that it, some slime to get her dirty and somewhat grossed out? He turned to Ladybug to ask her what was up with that when he suddenly noticed something wasn’t quite right with the room. Things looked… A lot bigger now… His eyes widened, thinking that the potion had shrunken him and he looked to Ladybug pleadingly.

“Tell me you can fix this buginette.” He said. Or he tried rather, because what came out of his mouth instead was a string of ‘meow’s. It was then that he looked down at himself, finding a black suit alright, but underneath it were stubby little furry legs and a an  _ actual _ tail. He screamed, sounding like a dying cat hissing his way through a catfight.

“Ch-Chat?” Ladybug asked, her voice tied between concern and amusement. She idly finished grabbing the stone out of the hat, not even looking as she placed it in her yoyo to purify it.

“No more corrupting for you, Focus Stone. Now... Miraculous Ladybug!” She said the words of rote, staring at Chat, or rather the cat that he had become. This would probably just be something they could laugh at... right?

“Well crap.” She said, bending down in front of her partner. Who was still a cat.

“I’m supposed to represent creation! I-I could fix all the stuff that Papillon changed because he was a miraculous wielder like us, but this... I...” Ladybug started to panic, worried about her partner, and about what they were going to do now. Tears started to well in her eyes, and all of her insecurities from when she had just gotten her powers flooded back.

“I’m so sorry Chat, I don’t know what to do.” She said, as her miraculous beeped in warning that she would be transforming back soon.

Chat looked up at Ladybug’s face, feeling his heart clench at how sad and regretful her expression seemed. He wanted to make it go away, but he didn’t know what to do either. He was a cat for crying out loud! An actual, small, apparently obnoxiously furry cat! Still, he rubbed himself on her legs, before placing his front paws on her knees to prop himself up. To his surprise he found himself purring loudly when he patted her hand with his head, trying to cheer her up to the best of his ability.

A low meow sounded as he tried to tell her it was okay, and he tried not to dwell on how high pitched his voice sounded. He pushed his head against her one more time, hoping his attempt to reassure her that it’d be alright was getting across.

Ladybug let out a watery laugh at the motion. “You look kinda like Morgana. Like from Persona. With the little suit and all.” She teased, a half hearted attempt at lightening up. She closed her eyes and took a couple deep breaths to steady herself.

A beep from her miraculous made her jump, and she fell over on her rear. She blinked for a moment, before bursting out into an almost hysterical giggle. “I think that’s our cue to go, Chaton. Uhh...” She pauses for a moment, Chat’s current state stumping her.

“Oh! Maybe when we transform back you’ll go back to normal!” She exclaimed, some of her excitement coming back. “Just not here. Come on, my house is on the other side of town, and I really don’t want to have to walk back with you if this doesn’t work.”

Ladybug took a moment to deliberate, before scooping Chat up and taking off through the mansion.

When they transformed back? That made some sense, he thought. He was basking in the feeling of being in Ladybug’s arms when her words finally sunk in. Her house. She was taking him to her house. Ladybug’s house. Ladybug was going to take  _ him _ to  _ her house _ where they were going to  _ detransform _ in front of  _ each other _ . She was going to reveal herself. He was about to find out who Ladybug’s true identity was, who the wonderful, amazing, brave, strong, smart, beautiful girl was behind the mask!

Chat Noir couldn’t contain his excitement, his tiny cat body contorting in Ladybug’s grasp. Granted it didn’t seem like a very good idea when she was swinging across Paris at top speed to make it in time before her Miraculous beeped out. But he just could stay still. Was it a cat thing? He felt more than comfortable in her hold and yet his body just seemed to want to wiggle its way out of it.  _ Stop it Chat, you idiot. _ He mentally scolded himself.

He felt himself slip from her grasp and on instinct his (actual cat) claws sprung out, clinging to her suit for dear life, meowing loudly in fear. Even though he was trying to squirm his way out just seconds ago. He was starting to think cats didn’t make a lot of sense, as much as he liked being  _ Chat  _ Noir.

“Waa, Chaat, just deal with it for one more second you danged pest. We’re almost there!” Ladybug almost squealed as claws dug into her suit. Thankfully the suit protected her from their points, otherwise she was certain that she would have gashes lining her back. When she finally settled down in an alley not far from her house, it was no sooner than she would have liked. She practically threw Chat off of her, feeling at one spot where he had managed to nic her on the neck, where the suit hadn’t protected her. It was thankfully only a light scratch.

“Alright, as one last ditch effort to preserve our identities, let’s change back on either side of the corner, alright? And if it doesn’t work, just come back around, I’ll wait here for you. If it does work, just say something and we can go our separate ways. Sound good?”

“Meow” was the only response Chat could give her, and he wasn’t sure if that made any sort of sense to her.

When he saw her earrings beeping the last of their power he scurried to hide behind a dumpster. Of course he wasn’t going to learn her identity. That was wishful thinking… Besides, Ladybug was right, as soon as he let his transformation go this was sure to wear off and he’d be back to his civilian self… There was no use risking their identities and therefore their safety over something this silly.

He willed his transformation away and in a flash of green the suit disappeared. And with that, so should have his newfound cattiness. However when he heard Plagg’s incessant and honestly annoying cackling he knew something wasn’t right. The black kwami was struggling to breathe through his manic laughter, tears springing to the corners of his eyes as he pointed an offending round paw at Adrien. Cat Adrien. Catrien. 

He stared at himself on the side of a trashcan in horror. In front of him stood a fluffy blonde cat, sans suit, in all his naked glory. He was naked. A fur-covered cat. But still very naked, apart from the white collar that hung around his neck which he assumed to be his miraculous’ adaptation to his new form. He’d lost count of the times he’d screamed that night. Especially since every time he had what came out was a quite literally inhuman screech. A cat’s cry of panic. If that wasn’t the signal Ladybug had asked for he didn’t know what was.

The fact that Plagg was still laughing at him definitely didn’t help either. “Oh geez kid. Y-you gotta… HAHAHA, look at yourself! This is priceless!”

Adrien simply glared at the kwami of destruction, wishing he could somehow punish him beyond his icy stare. And with a sudden burst of satisfaction he realized that, as a cat, he could pounce him and scratch the living daylights out of his face. So he did.  _ No mercy! _ Adrien thought with a warcry, launching himself at the kwami with all of his weight behind him.

Decency be damned! He would have his revenge!

Marinette felt her heart drop as she heard a cat’s shriek from around the corner. She whipped around, ready to come to her partner’s defense, when she saw...

One cat attacking another? A lighter furred one attacking what didn’t quite seem to be a cat? But which was Chat? He had seemed to be a lighter color under that suit, but the other cat like creature was black, and it would make sense for Chat to not be a normal cat in this situation.

“Chat?” She called out, her voice uncertain. She hovered over the pair, the wisdom of ‘don’t get in between a catfight’ ringing in her head. When she saw the familiar ring of his miraculous around his neck though, all thoughts left her head, and she lunged for the lighter colored cat, scooping Chat up in her arms and holding him close.

“I’m sorry Chat. I’m so sorry, this is my fault.” She said, tears building in her eyes once more.

“Nah lady, I’m pretty sure he  _ walked _ into that one himself from what I know of him.” Plagg rolled his bright green eyes, dusting himself off as he floated in front of Marinette and Adrien, who was still clawing at the air, trying to get to him. He choked back another laugh. “I’m sorry, this is just too good.” The kwami dissolved into another fit of laughter, falling to the floor like a floating feather while holding his belly.

“Plagg!” A little red creature came flying out of Marinette’s purse, where she had just finished eating the backup cookie stock. “I’m very disappointed in you! You are supposed to support your wielder in times like this, not  _ laugh at him. _ You should be ashamed of yourself!” 

Tikki flew up towards her wielder after saying this, intent on actually doing what she saw as her job.  Adrien’s pupils blew up in his cat eyes as he followed Ladybug’s kwami, his mind chanting a series of  _ shiny red thing, shiny red thing _ .  “Don’t worry you two. While I can’t fix this right away, this sort of spell should resolve itself in only a matter of two or three days.”

“Two or three _ days _ !” Marinette shouted, distressed. “That’s  _ forever! _ What are we supposed to do until then?! I mean, he’s got a test tomorrow, and- How is he supposed to go home like this?”

Adrien jerked in Marinette’s hold, earning himself a splat onto the floor when she dropped him. As soon as he got to his feet and turned around in alarm, the reality of the situation finally sinking in (his dad was going to kill him), his brain froze. Because where he expected to see Ladybug, he saw Marinette.  _ Marinette _ . His long-time classmate. The shy and sweet girl who stuttered anytime he was around her for the good part of two years. He looked around for a moment, confused. He was having a hard time consolidating the image he had of Marinette with the one he had of Ladybug. Not that he didn’t think she was amazing or anything but… She was  _ that close _ the whole time?! How could he have not seen it?!

A garbled meow left his throat and he just flopped forward, considering every bad excuse for being late, and every time Marinette disappeared and Ladybug appeared and just… Their hair was exactly the same. Seriously. What was  _ wrong  _ with him? Could cats spontaneously combust out of sheer stupidity? He certainly wanted to.

“And, and, where else can he go? I mean... Would my parents even let me keep a cat, even if it was only for a couple of days?” Marinette rambled on, not noticing Chat’s slump at first. However, when he started acting very... non-cat-ey, she started to get a little worried.

“Chat? Are you alright? Well, I mean, what am I saying, of course you’re not alright, you’re a cat, but are you feeling sick or something? Oh gosh, Tikki, what if he’s sick? What am I supposed to do? He’s my partner, I can’t lose him!” Marinette rambled, thoroughly freaking herself out.

“Relaaax.” Plagg chided with a smirk. “He’s a cat, that’s the good life right there. Kid needs a break anyway. He’s just getting used to this new dynamic. Or something.”

Adrien moved his head towards the black kwami pleadingly.  _ You’re the god of destruction, end my misery! _ He projected his thoughts onto him, hoping that would somehow work. But alas, all he got from Plagg was a satisfied grin. “Give him some Camembert.” All Adrien could do was panic at the prospect, effectively climbing onto Marinette’s shoulders with a hiss. And the use of his claws. On a girl without a super suit.

“Ow ow ow ow CHAT!! Claws! You have claws now! Owww that hurts! Off off! Get off of me!” She shrieked, pushing the creme cat away. “Geez, I think you might have drawn blood! I’m not a scratching tower.”

“Are you alright, Marinette?” Tikki asked, pushing up against her cheek in a hug.

“Yeah, just was shocked. As long as our little Minou here learns not to climb me like a jungle gym, it should be alright. Come on, it’s late and we should be getting home. I- I guess you can come too, Chat.”

Adrien stared at Marinette, still a little unbelieving that this was really Ladybug standing in front of him. He considered his options. Going home like this would earn him nothing but an angry and sneezing Nathalie chasing him off the property. He didn’t exactly want to stay out in the streets on his own (Plagg’s company didn’t count in the least), with no food or shelter. And in this form, he could easily get himself hurt or thrown into kitty jail. That was definitely a thing that existed.

He easily reached the conclusion that yes, going with Marinette was the best thing he could do. And when he started thinking of possible pastry treats, well, he was sold. He opened his mouth to agree but of course only meowed. So he rubbed himself against his classmate’s legs in hopes of getting the message across.

Plagg settled himself into Marinette’s purse with a “Mind if I crash here? Seems the kid’s made up his mind. Also, have you got any cheese? I’m starving.”

“Hmm, that’s Tikki’s spot, so you’ll have to ask her.” Marinette responded teasingly. “And I’m not sure on the cheese. I think all we have left is a bit that’s gone moldy.” She said flatly, trying to get a reaction out of the black kwami.  _ ‘Revenge.’ _

“I’ll settle for cheese pastries, don’t your parents own a bakery or something?” The kwami replied, staring at his nonexistent nails with a relaxed cheshire smirk. Adrien certainly knew where he got the sass from while in transformation. “And about the spot, Tikki and I can cuddle, right?”

“All of the extra pastries have been sent to the homeless shelter by now.” Marinette said, this time truthfully. “And it’s up to Tikki if she’ll cuddle or not.” 

“Of course I will, it’s been a while. Even if you are insufferable.” Tikki said, floating over to the purse.

“She was kidding about the pastry thing, right?” He whispered, trying not to sound panicked.

“No, but she  _ was  _ kidding about the cheese in the house having gone moldy. Her family runs a bakery, they don’t keep any bad food in the building.” Tikki said with a giggle. Marinette let out a laugh of her own at being outed.


	2. Pet that kitty

“Looks like we’re here. Come on, we’ve gotta be extra quiet since I’m sneaking up a cat.” Marinette said, cracking open the back door to her house. She creeped up the stairs, skipping the one that she knew to be a little squeaky. She only relaxed when she was settled back in her room.

Adrien laid down on the floor, finding every position uncomfortable. For someone who was a cat superhero he couldn’t get used to being an actual one if his life depended on it. His eyes roamed around Marinette’s room, just as pink as he remembered from each time he’d come by with his friends. What he’d never seen before was the countless posters hanging on her wall. Had that always been there? Considering he never noticed that Ladybug was sitting behind him in class the whole time he honestly wouldn’t put it past him not seeing those either.

Climbing up to Marinette’s desk and knocking off a couple of drawing pencils to the floor on his way there, he sat down, looking at his face intently. His human face. One he missed a lot by now. Question was, why was his face all over Marinette’s bedroom? He tilted his head to the side quizzically, his front paws coming to touch the one closest to him. Which of course ripped and fell to the ground.

“Ch-Chat!” Marinette cried out, going over to grab the poster that he had clawed. “Why would you- do you not like him? I- I just have the posters up for inspiration! I design stuff! Like clothes, and stuff! Th-that’s why I have posters of Adrien all over my room. Not because I have a super big crush on him or anything. Aheh” She rambled on, ending of in a trail of nervous giggles.

Well that made sense. It was about his father, not him. Marinette had always said Gabriel was her favourite designer. If he had his face, he would’ve frowned. Screw those pretty smiles on those stupid posters. He clawed at another one, this time on purpose. Stupid Gabriel. Stupid modelling.

“Sure thing, no crushes or anything. About that cheese?” Plagg floated to Marinette’s face, poking her cheek. “I’m dying here, are you really gonna let me starve, at least the kid feeds me so I’ll shut up!”

“I’ll feed you as soon as he stops tearing up my posters! CHAT! Quit it!” Marinette was nearly shouting now, certain her parents would come up and ask about the noise any moment now. She grabbed the poster he was tearing up, then frantically started pulling down all of the posters in the room. 

“Okay okay, I’ll admit it, I do have a giant crush on him now would you stop destroying my stuff, Chat!” Marinette said, the frustration of the day starting to catch up to her.

_ Yeah crush! I’ll crush that model smile off my stupid face. _ Adrien thought following Marinette and the posters she was carrying.

“Please Chat...” She pleaded, tears starting to trickle in her eyes. And, as such things tend to work, she started to feel guilty for breaking down, as she wasn’t the one going through all of this. She should be the rock for him, not breaking down! But it wasn’t helping at all to think like that, and the tears started to fall despite her best efforts. “Just stop... Please.”

The blonde cat blinked up at Marinette, seeing the glistening tears falling down her cheeks and suddenly realizing what he’d actually been doing. He was destroying her stuff, and after she told him who she was and offered him her home no less. He lowered his head with a miserable meow, begging for her forgiveness. Headbutting her ankles, he felt a purr rumble within his chest, resounding in his throat. His tail twitched, coming to wrap around one of her feet as he lay down on his back, lifting his paws up to the sky. That was cute, right? Something that cheered people up to look at?

“Oh Chat...” Marinette said, trying to hold back a giggle. “I’m sorry. Here you are, turned into a cat, and  _ I’m _ the one bursting into tears. Let’s go- Let me go get your kawmi some cheese really quick, before he just  _ dies _ of hunger, then we can try and figure out a cat bed?”

Marinette creeped out of her room, grabbing a decent amount of cheese out of the fridge in the kitchen. She knew her parents would probably get annoyed with her when they noticed the theft, but it was necessary. 

Plagg dove into the cheese Marinette was carrying back into the room, settling down with it wherever Tikki had decided to crash for the night. Adrien followed the girl with his eyes, noting the tired look on her face. He jumped onto the chaise, sitting at the end of it and meowing at her quietly. He laid down, signalling that he’d be fine there and she could get some rest. Or at least thinking it and assuming she would take the hint.

“Okay, cat bed.” Marinette said, mostly to herself. “Is that where you want it to be?” She asked Chat, in a mostly rhetorical question. She went into her closet, pulling out a couple blankets, and the lid to one of her boxes of fabric. Using the lid as the base, she settled the blankets down as so to have it so they hopefully wouldn’t go all over the place. She then used a bit of tape to hold the box in place. 

“Volia! Cat bed! My aunt showed me how to do this, she uses it as a cheap way to tell if a cat will even use a cat bed before buying them one. Here it’s just good because it’s quick and easy to set up.” Marinette added, not wanting Chat to think she was treating him like any normal cat. “I’m going to go get changed and brush my teeth. I’ll be right back, Chaton.”

Adrien watched the girl leave the room before directing his gaze to the makeshift cat bad. Padding over to it, he tried poking a paw into it, feeling it soft and warm. It looked comfortable if he was going to be honest and yet, he didn’t quite want to get into it. Maybe everything that had happened that night was finally catching up to him and he started feeling a full blown panic attack setting in.

He looked around, the way everything still seemed a lot bigger than it should be started feeling so  _ wrong _ . His father was going to find out he was missing anytime in the next few hours. He was going to miss that test tomorrow, like Marinette had so helpfully pointed out earlier. He was a cat, that was still a thing, and he had just found out that Ladybug had been in his class all along, disguised as a cute girl he definitely didn’t consider once or twice that ‘if I hadn’t met Ladybug first’ he’d probably have asked out.

And as it turned out they were one and the same.  _ Idiot.  _ Not like it mattered, she wasn’t interested in him that way.

He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. He would’ve probably freaked out at a much larger scale if not for the very pressing matter of him being a cat. And now that Marinette was out of the room and the kwamis were somewhere together probably sleeping and recharging… He was alone with his thoughts and an overwhelming inability to process it all.

So naturally, he started running from one end of the room to the other at top speeds. Adrien didn’t exactly know why he was doing it, or what it was going to accomplish, but he was doing it anyway. It was somewhat relieving. He was actually starting to have some fun with it when he figured out cat paws didn’t offer a lot of traction and he skidded across Marinette’s floor into a pile of sewing supplies by her desk, screeching out loudly when he felt several sharp stings all around his body.

Marinette started hopping awkwardly in her pajama pants as she heard a crash in her room, followed by an unmistakable cat screech.  _ ‘Well, there goes any hope of hiding him.’ _

“Marinette?” Her mother called, just as she popped out of the bathroom with her toothbrush sticking out of her mouth. “What’s with all the racket hun?”

“My friend ashked me to take care of their cat for a couple dayj, and I know I should have ashked you, but I wash afraid you’d shay no, and it’sh a houshe cat, and it might not be able to shurvive on itsh own outshide, and I promishe I’ll take good care of it!” Marinette rambled, bits of toothpaste trailing out around the brush.

The next pained meow was enough to have her careening into the bathroom, spitting the rest of the toothpaste out so she could run back into her room. “Minou, are you- pfft” She put a hand to her toothpaste covered mouth, laughing as she saw the poor cat covered in a mound of cloth that was somehow pinned into place. “Hold still so I can get these off, you silly kitty.”

Her mother watched from the door as she carefully interacted with the cat, picking up on the fact that there was more to this situation then met the eye. “Alright hon, you can keep the cat here, as long as it’s only for a few days.”

Marinette perked up, turning to face her mom excitedly. “Oh thank you thank you Maman!”

When the final pin was taken away by Marinette’s expert hands, Adrien would’ve let out a sigh of relief, although given the situation he purred, pushing his head into the girl’s hand instead. He kind of wanted her to pet him. Was that weird? Maybe a little bit, but at the same time Ladybug scratched his chin and behind his ears all the time… Was it because he was a cat that she was avoiding doing so, or was it because this was Marinette?

For a moment he thought that the affections Ladybug offered were only because of their partnership, her way of showing praise… He realized with disappointment that maybe Marinette really wouldn’t ever see him as more than just that, a crime-fighting partner. At that thought, he let out a saddened mewl.

Marinette was tired, she’d had a really long day, and- Well, she could probably come up with a mile of excuses, none of which would clear her of guilt for what she did in that moment. But when Chat bumped up against her hand and gave that sad little meow? She couldn’t help it, she just pet him. As if he were some average house cat. Once she realized what she had done, she pulled back her hand like she had been burned.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that, you’re not- you just look like a cat right now...”

_ No, no, no! Please don’t stop! _ Adrien thought at her words, moving closer to her. He looked up at her face with the largest, glinting eyes he could muster, channeling all of the cuteness he had in him.  _ I’ll make Puss in Boots proud! _

“You- You’re not angry?” Marinette ask timidly, moving the hand that had offended her back down towards Chat, and just holding it out a little away from his head. She was so nervous, closing her eyes and turning her head away a bit as she waited for him to respond.

Adrien didn’t hesitate one second before leaning into her awaiting hand, turning his head so that he could expose the spot behind his ears. It was as if he was begging for her to scratch an itch he didn’t even know he had.

Marinette slumped in relief, scratching behind Chat’s ears without even opening her eyes. She slumped back, laying on her floor with her legs crossed. “Wake me up when summer comes. I don’t even wanna go to school tomorrow, I’m too tired.”

The words didn’t even register inside Adrien’s mind. All his thoughts had been reduced to a series of satisfied  _ Yes, right there, oh my god, this feels amazing! _ And he couldn’t care less about how pathetic that may sound. But darn it, his lady was petting him, he was going to enjoy it, impending doom or not.

He turned his head this and that way, letting Marinette scratch one spot for a few moments before switching to the next before completely twisting his entire body with unnatural flexibility, laying on his back. His tail was twitching every which way as if it had a mind of its own, his throat rumbling with a loud purr of pure bliss.

“You’re really getting into this, aren’t you Minou?” Marinette asked, amused. “Usually cats your age are a bit calmer, though I guess it can be blamed on the fact that you aren’t a normal cat. Either way, I think it’s about time to get to sleep.”

When Marinette sat back up, she felt a little dizzy. It wasn’t too bad though, so she waved it off, and managed to crawl into her bed. “Good night, Minou.”

Adrien sat on the floor for a few heartbeats before climbing up to his bed for the night in resignation. He settled in, got as comfortable as he thought he was gonna get and closed his eyes. And then he waited for sleep to come. It felt like hours of twisting and turning but it just didn’t seem like he was getting any sleep.

Sitting up he looked around the darkened room, his cat eyes allowing him to see just as if he was wearing the suit. His gaze fell on Marinette’s face, a little scrunched up from what he assumed to be a dream of some sort. He shouldn’t. He most definitely shouldn’t. But ignoring any common sense he may have had, he jumped down to the floor, patting his way to the girl’s bed and climbing the stairs up to it. He burrowed his head underneath her sheets, wiggling his way into them and settling next to Marinette’s feet.

_ So nice and warm… Feels like heaven… _ He thought, curling up into the tiniest ball he could manage and feeling sleep taking over in an instant.

Marinette woke to the sound of her alarm feeling even more exhausted than she had the night before. She very groggily hit the snooze button, stealing just a few more minutes of sleep. Unfortunately, after the second time hitting the snooze, her special alarm app made her solve a few math problems before she could turn it off, thus waking her up.

She looked over to the cat bed that she had made, wanting to check up on her partner. When she saw it empty, all traces of sleep rushed out of her. “Chat?” She called out, concerned. She gave the room a quick once over from her loft bed, not seeing him. It was only when she crawled out of her bed so she could head down and check her desk that she noticed the cat-sized lump at the foot of her bed. She breathed a sigh of relief, reaching over to pat him over the blankets.

Adrien felt something poking his back and his eyes shot open in alarm, finding himself shrouded in complete darkness. Disoriented and not quite yet remembering what had transpired the night before due to the sleep hazing his thoughts, he panicked. His claws dug into the mattress and his fur stood on end as he twirled underneath the sheets, trying to find a way out in a frenzy.

Sadly, the exit he found happened to be the side of Marinette’s bed that led to nothing but air and he fell down to the floor with a thud. He still didn’t quite have that landing on his feet thing down, apparently. It took him a moment to process why his feet felt so wobbly and unsteady and why he wasn’t in his bedroom being woken up by Nathalie for his lean, calorie counted breakfast.

Marinette winced at the thud of her partner hitting the floor a good two or so meters down. She scurried down the stairs, hovering over him. “Are- are you okay?” She squeaked out, hands awkwardly hanging a bit above him.

“I’m sorry I scared you Minou. I was just worried when you weren’t in the bed I made, and wanted to make sure that was you.” Remembering how much he had liked being pet the night before, Marinette tentatively reached out and scratched behind his ears.

Adrien let out a pleased meow, completely forgetting his ungraceful landing and simply enjoying her touch. Maybe being a cat wasn’t so bad, not when it meant getting this much attention from his Lady. From Marinette. He could be her kitty, he wouldn’t mind that. No more modelling, no more controlled diet, or absurdly busy schedule, no more people trying to get on his good side just because they wanted his father’s attention. This wasn’t so bad, was it? He could get used to this.

Especially if that meant staying with her. He never wanted to leave her, as strangely clingy as that sounded. In the back of his head, the voice of reason told him that kind of thinking was creepy and stalkerish. But all he could focus on was what it felt like to be next to Marinette, her fingers gingerly petting all the good spots that made his tail twitch involuntarily.

Marinette let out a forlorn sigh as she pet Chat, and he twisted under her hand like any other house cat might. “I’m worried about you, Mon Minou. Am I going to get you back, or are you going to have changed for good?” Realizing what she implied, Marinette flustered some, rushing to correct herself. “I mean, will you keep some of the cat parts! Like the petting. And the running around.”

“I miss having  _ my  _ Chat around. I mean, it’s a bit silly for me to say that, you’re right here! And besides, we’ve gone longer without seeing each other. But...” She trailed off, a faraway look in her eyes.

Adrien sat back, tail swishing from one side to another as he tilted his head to one side. He guessed he couldn’t stay like this forever, huh? She looked sad, and he couldn’t help but feeling guilty for the selfish thoughts he harbored just moments ago. He was her partner, he was supposed to look out for her, be there for her. Not as a cat, or an actual one for that matter. He would be her Chaton even if he went back to being a human.

He rubbed himself against her leg once, then a second time, trying to reassure her and then went to sit by the bed she’d made for him. This would get fixed, they’d go back to their usual dynamic, and they’d be fine. He’d be okay with that, as long as she was happy, he would be too.

Marinette gave him a sad smile, and gathered an outfit for the day. “What am I saying? You’ll always be here for me. I know it. Let me go get changed really quick, and don’t make a mess this time!” 

She made the ‘I’m watching you’ sign as she backed out of her room.


	3. The Cat's IN The Bag

As a cat, there wasn’t much Adrien could do but sit around and wait for her to come back. He started wondering how he was going to get through an entire day of her at school when some movement caught his eye. His head snapped to the offending black spot on the wall, skittering this way and that, and his pupils blew to twice the size.

 

The black dot lifted from the wall, flying towards his face with an annoying buzz. He couldn’t not swat at it with a paw. What did it think it was, flying past him like that? It effortlessly dodged his meticulous attack and dove down, away from him. He felt it was his duty to take it down. He wasn’t about to let it mock him like that. He chased after it, pawing at it, pouncing on top of it, but the little sneak always managed to get away.

 

It eluded him so much that he actually lost sight of it, the only sign of its existence that loud, aggravating buzz. Turning around, he spotted it. Flying away like it had done nothing.  _ Oh no you don’t, I’m gonna catch you, you little- _

 

He picked up his speed, darting towards the buzzer at full throttle, once again forgetting that he didn’t have any breaks. He crashed through the door where Marinette had disappeared to, bumping right into her unsuspecting legs. When he gathered himself, looking up at his surroundings, his eyes widened when they met a startled Marinette wearing nothing but her t-shirt and underwear.

 

_ Oh no. She’s gonna kill me. _

 

He knew that he should probably stop staring and bolt right out of there, but for some reason, his body wouldn’t move. If the look on her face was anything to go by, he was definitely screwed.

 

Marinette tapped her foot a few times. He was still just sitting there, shellshocked. She cleared her throat. No reaction. She sighed, trying to find the perfect balance between Ladybug and Marinette. Thankfully, she was able to garner enough pity, without getting too awkward. She gently grabbed Chat, turned him around, and set him back in the doorway.

 

He was just chasing a fly, no need to get too upset, right? Right?

 

All the same, she hurried to get dressed the rest of the way and avoid any other mishaps. 

 

The benefits of having a bathroom attached to your bedroom: not having to share with family members, not having to hide feminine products, not having guests rifling through it, etc.

 

The one biggest disadvantage? It can breed a lot of bad habits. Such as not closing the door. And apparently having cats chase flies into your leg. And to be truthful, she would not fully blame Chat, since she was the one who left the door open.

 

One thing was certain. If Adrien hadn’t been a cat right now, his face would have turned about 50 shades of red and he’d be apologizing to Marinette for the next 100 years. He still might do that last one as soon as he can form any words other than ‘meow’.

 

Trying not to let his embarrassment cripple him any further, he walked back into the room, searching for where Tikki and Plagg were sleeping. He looked around for a bit until he found them curled up in one of Marinette’s supply boxes. They looked rather at peace, hugging each other with soft smiles gracing their features. It was actually very cute. He almost felt bad about waking Plagg up. Almost.

 

He made a point of having his claws out before giving him the cat equivalent of a wake-up slap.  _ Rise and shine, furball!  _ He would’ve laughed if not for his current form, watching his kwami spring up and glare at him with an angry “Hey! Watch it kid!”

 

He turned around, feigning innocence, strutting like a good cat he definitely wasn’t as if to say  _ I have no idea what you’re talking about. _

 

Marinette only had a moment to get dressed before there was more noise coming from her room. She rushed back, hoping that it wasn’t anything bad. Her shoulders slumped in relief when she saw that it was just the two cats going off on each other again.

 

“Don’t make a mess, you two. It’s my room to clean if you do, and you so don’t want to see me grumpy from having to clean my room.” She jibed, attempting to stop any roughhousing before it began.

 

“You should listen to her boys. I’ve seen her after she cleaned her room when Manon made a mess in here. She wasn’t happy.” Tikki chimed in, getting a thankful smile from Marinette.

 

Adrien could only look up at Marinette with what he assumed to be a guiltless expression, wanting to tell her he would never do anything to upset his Princess. Alas, all that left him was a meow. Really, he couldn’t even begin to try and act suave in this state. Plagg came to sit on his back, almost like he was his personal horse.

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t get in any trouble if he doesn’t. And if there’s cheese in it for me, of course.” 

 

Adrien tired to shake the kwami off but unfortunately his Miraculous collar seemed to serve as pretty handy reins.

 

“I’ll get you some cheese during my lunch break. You eat a lot at a time, and if too much goes missing my parents will get upset. What kind do you want?” Marinette asked.

 

“Why only the best”  _ stinkiest  _ “most delicious”  _ disgusting _ “cheese there is! Camembert!” Plagg boasted, causing Adrien to inwardly groan and attempt to get rid of the pest on his back once more. He’d pay her for however much cheese that glutton leeched off of his friend.

 

“I can do that. By the way, I think Chat would appreciate it if you were to get off his back.”

 

Just as Plagg was about to protest, Adrien had the brilliant idea that if he wouldn’t get off, then he’d just get on. So he rolled over, crushing the tiny god with a satisfied purr as the kwami grunted and squirmed underneath his weight.  _ Serves you right for making me stink of cheese all the time.  _ He was really having fun getting some revenge on Plagg for all the hardships he put him through.

 

A giggle rung through the room, followed by a short “Told you. I’ve gotta get ready for school, don’t make a mess.  _ Please _ .” She looked Chat in the eyes as she said this, trying to get the message across, before heading downstairs to get breakfast from her parents. She made sure to grab some leftover chicken from dinner and brought it up with her for Chat.

 

“Here, it’s not the best, but it’s not dry cat food either. When I get the cheese, I’ll grab something for you too, Minou.” Marinette said as she set down the dish.  After a couple of seconds of embarrassment, Adrien bent down next to the dish and nibbled at the bits of chicken, knowing that Marinette was doing her best with the situation she was given. She ate her own food quietly, a simple toast breakfast. After that, it was scramble to get everything put together, and hurry out the door, as she only had a few minutes until school starts. She was a little sluggish that morning, and hardly even noticed that her bag laid on her chair until she was almost out the door of the bakery and her mom called out to remind her to grab it.

 

She trudged up the stairs, slinging her school bag over her shoulders with a sigh. She didn’t notice the extra weight dragging it down, just figuring that she was too tired for the day. After all, the previous night had been very long and exhausting.  But in reality, upon realizing that Marinette had left her bag behind, Adrien had climbed up the desk with the intent of grabbing it in his mouth and taking it to her. However, the bag’s weight proved to be too much for a small cat and he ended up falling into it instead, just in time for the girl to pick it up and run off. Plagg only had time to phase through the bag and sit beside his flustered Chosen.

 

Marinette slouched in her seat, almost surprised to have made it to school on time. Chloé walked in moments later, and seeing as Adrien hadn’t come in yet, turned to Marinette as her next target. “Wow, did you just come to school like that? You look like you just got out of bed. Some of us actually bother to put effort into our appearances, you know. You’re offending my eyesight.”

 

“Well, then I’m sorry to tell you, girl, but Marinette’s bed-head looks better than whatever you paid to have done to your face. Is it because all the mirrors at your house cracked and you don’t actually know what you’re doing or do you actually try to make yourself look that hideous?” Alya’s voice rang from behind the blonde, her hand resting on her hip and her lips pulled up into a smirk.

 

Inside the bag, Adrien mentally high-fived Alya, shuffling around to try and get some air.

 

“It’s alright Alya, if I let what she said get to me, then I wouldn’t have any time for real friends. After all, I’m sure she must have spent hundreds of hours trying to ‘fix’ her face.” Marinette added, being somewhat vague. Then, because it seemed to be a little mean, even for Chloé, she added, “I mean, why fix what’s not broken?”

 

“Hmph, damn right it’s not broken, I’m more beautiful than all of you and you know it.” Was the response, in the usual haughty tone. Chloé stomped off towards her seat, sitting next to Sabrina with a humph.

 

“Then why all the hours and effort? You’re wasting time. You could be spending that time studying, or even... *Gasp* hanging out with your best friend.” Marinette said, unable to hold back some of the sarcasm.

 

“Let’s face it Mari, she doesn’t have a best friend.” Alya returned, taking her seat and setting down her things by her feet.

 

Marinette sighed, too tired to continue the argument. She turned to her bag, going to pull out her stuff for her first class. She had to hold back a screech when she saw A. Cat. sitting there like nothing was wrong with the world. “Minou, what are you doing there?” She grit out between clenched teeth.

 

Adrien looked at her sheepishly, or as much as a cat could in the way of expressions. Maybe the emotion was conveyed in his eyes, he certainly hoped so. He settled in quietly, with an apologetic mew that, much to his chagrin, was loud enough to catch Alya’s attention.

 

The girl in question stared at the cat wide-eyed, then to Marinette, back to the cat before turning and finally staring down her best friend and grabbing her by the shoulders. “Did you just sneak a  _ cat _ into school?”

 

“I didn’t  _ mean _ to!” She hissed back, gesturing for Alya to be quiet. “He must have snuck into my bag this morning!”

 

She glared back at Chat, but when she saw him with his ears back, eyes large, and just looking so, so, so... pitiful, she just couldn’t stay angry at him. She turned back to Alya with a sigh. “Just don’t tell anyone, okay? If Chloé finds out, you know she’ll make a giant fuss over it.”

 

Alya grinned, moving her fingers over lips in the motion of a zipper. “My lips are sealed, don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” She turned to the front of the class greeting Nino who was just entering with the teacher on his tail. Her eyes settled on the empty seat in front of Marinette. “Where’s the sunshine child?” She questioned, using the nickname she only did around Marinette.

 

Adrien was confused for a moment before seeing her line of sight and feeling a sense of dread looming over him. He didn’t want his friends to needlessly worry about him.

 

“Why are you asking me? You’re usually the one who knows, with your crazy future journalist stalking powers.” Marinette asked, getting somewhat nervous at the mention of her crush. She used her bag as a distraction, carefully trying to retrieve her stuff from the cat-laden bag.

 

Adrien tried to shuffle out of the way, attempting to make things easier for her as Alya snorted at Marinette’s response. “Says the girl who had a full on schedule on her whiteboard of all his photoshoots not even a year ago.” She snickered, elbowing her side.

 

Inside the bag, Adrien could only look at Marinette in confusion, his ears twitching curiously.  _ She had my schedule? What on earth for? _

 

“Ye-yeah, well, I got that from you! I just used it to my full advantage...” She said, trailing off at the end... “I’m not like a stalker or anything!”

 

“Sure thing, girl. Mme. Mendeleiev is giving us the stink-eye, we should probably start shutting up. Think lil’ kitty-cat over there can keep himself quiet?” She asked with a hint of mischief, dangling her foot over the bag, her shoelaces swinging enticingly above Adrien’s head which moved in tow with the pendulum.

 

“Yeah, he’s smarter than you might think.” Marinette said, sending him a look that  _ dared _ him to prove her wrong. She then mostly closed her bag, leaving enough of it open that it’d be easier for him to breathe, but not to be seen.

 

After that, it was merely a matter of staying awake during class, a feat much harder than normal. She did her best to take down good notes though, knowing that there would be a chance that Adrien would ask for them.  _ Adriiieeeenn~~ _

 

Plagg poked Adrien on his side to get his attention and the blonde cat jerked in surprise, twisting uncomfortably to look at him. “School’s not going to suddenly finish no matter how hard you stare at her. Might as well settle back and get some sleep.” The kwami whispered his wise advice before leaning back and instantly dozing off. Adrien resigned himself to follow his lead, adamant of making Marinette proud and not causing a fuss.

 

Dreams of Adrien at photo shoots, of him at a beach in swim trunks, dreams of Chat turning into Adrie-

 

“ADRIEN!!” Marinette shouted as she was jolted awake and scaring Adrien into wakefulness as well .  Luckily, he managed not to make a noise. She looked up sheepishly to see the teacher hovering over her with a disappointed expression.

 

“Perhaps you’d like to explain your dreams to the principal.” Marinette hung her head, making her way to the principal’s office. At least without Chloé there, he would be nice to her. A sort of unspoken agreement between him and the students that she had forced into unfair punishments, any other times they were sent to him, they often got off easy. 

 

“Come in.” Was the response to the sad pair of knocks, and she plodded in disparagingly.  “Oh my, what’s wrong, Marinette?” M. Damocles asked, worried at seeing a student look so down.

 

“Fell asleep in class. I’m... I’m really not feeling well sir, can I just go home?” Marinette felt kind of bad asking to go straight home, as it meant that she wouldn’t be able to go get the cheese and food for the cats, but she was having a hard time staying awake, even here.

 

“Let me call your parents.” The man said, reaching for his phone.

 

At the sound of the phone ringing, Tom excused himself to the customer he was talking to with Sabine and picked it up with a quick but cheerful “Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, how may I help you?”

 

“Hello, this is M. Damocles. I’ve got your daughter Marinette here saying she doesn’t feel well. She fell asleep in class and was sent to my office. She was wondering if you could come get her to take her home?”

 

Tom immediately started worrying for his daughter looking at the busy bakery with concern. “Is she okay? Did something happen? What’s wrong?” 

 

“She just seems very tired sir. I’m sure it’s nothing too serious. She probably just needs some time to rest.” The principal responded, trying to assure the father’s worries.

 

Letting out a sigh of relief, Tom saw the mayor walking in, demanding their immediate attention for ‘an important matter’ that needed to be dealt with posthaste. “Could you please ask her if she’s okay enough to wait until lunch, something just came up.”

 

“Of course sir.” He turned to where Marinette was standing, half asleep. “Your father wants to know if you can make it until lunch. He said something important had come up.”

 

Marinette gave out a sleepy sigh, nodding. “Yeah, I guess. It’s nothing too bad, I just can’t focus on the work, and I have a test that I can’t afford to take when I’m sick like this. Not that I’m trying to avoid the test, I’m just...” She trailed off into a large yawn, covering her mouth with a hand. “Tired.”

 

“Of course. Head back to class, there won’t be any disciplinary action in this case. Just don’t keep falling asleep in that class. You know how bad Mme. Mendeleiev is about that!” He joked, before turning back to the phone to assure her father that everything was alright.

 

“Marinette said she’ll be fine until lunch. Thank you for your patience, Monsieur.”

 

Tom thanked the man profusely, quickly excusing himself to go to his wife’s aid at the sight of her pleading gaze. The mayor could be a lot to handle on your own.

 

Adrien waited patiently for Marinette’s return, the guilt of likely keeping her up way longer than she might have had he not been there making a mess for her to clean up taking over.

 

Marinette settled back into her seat quietly, attempting not to get her teacher any more upset at her. She had to struggle not to let her head hit the desk. And she couldn’t be more happy when they went to their next class, meaning she could get up and stretch around a bit. Even if it meant question time via Alya.

 

“So you gotta tell me, however did you come to acquire this lovely little charmer? And what’s his name?” Alya jokingly demanded, her hand coming to Marinette’s bag to pet the cat in question. Adrien couldn’t help but lean into his friend’s hand with a purr. For a moment he wondered if this was his deprivation of affections throughout his childhood showing, but didn’t care enough to dwell on it long. 

 

“O-oh, He-he he I’m I’m just watching him! For a co-couple o-of days! There’s a lady! Down the street! Her son? Her son is coming to visit, and he’s allergic to cats s-so she asked me to wa-watch him for a co-couple of days! His name is Ch- Minou! His name’s Minou.” Marinette stuttered out, almost Adrien levels of nervous. She held the bag with him in it close to her with one arm, reaching her other hand in to pet him.

 

“Lady really wasn’t original in the way of naming was she?” Her friend laughed, gesturing for Nino to come closer and spy their class’ newest member. “Tell me, doesn’t that cat have Adrien’s eyes? Maybe that’s why he’s not here, he got turned into a cat by a witch or something!” The girl dissolved into hysterics.

 

Adrien stared wide-eyed at Marinette, meowing against his better judgement. Hell was about to break loose when suddenly Nathalie burst through the classroom door, her eyes roaming the room and two policemen following close behind her.

 

Marinette’s heart skipped a beat at Alya’s words, and she was still stunned when the Agrest’s personal assistant burst into the room.

 

“Mme. Sancoeur? What’s wrong?” She asked, when even the teacher was still in shock at the sudden appearance.

 

The woman looked at her sternly, whispering something at the men by her side before addressing her in a strained yet controlled voice. “Has anyone here seen M. Agreste’s son today?” Her question hung in the air heavily and Adrien nudged a paw against Marinette’s leg, suspecting she wouldn’t even notice it.

 

“N-No Madam, he’s been absent all day. We’d just figured he had some rush thing scheduled.” Marinette stuttered when she felt a paw jab into her. She had to resist the urge to look at Chat right away, knowing that would just be suspicious. Her mind raced at what he might be trying to say with that action.

 

Why would he jab at her in that moment? A cat with those green eyes, the blonde fur... Had a test in the same subject on the same day... Could he really be?

 

Just in case he was, what could Marinette say to assure his family that he would be alright? It wasn’t like she could just say “Oh hey, your son is a cat now, but don’t worry, it’s just for a couple days!”

 

“I’m sure he’ll show up, Mme. Sancoeur. Adrien’s a smart guy.” Marinette said, trying to sound confident and reassuring.

 

“Mari, he was homeschooled most of his life and has close to no social skills and like a million fangirls. Face it, he’s doomed.” Nino muttered quietly at her attempt at easing the assistant’s obvious stress.

 

“Yea, thank you for the kind words.” She moved closer to the group and handed them each a card. “You’re his closest friends, tell us if you know anything.” She eyed Marinette’s bag suspiciously. “Anything.” Turning to the policemen, the woman went on her way. “We’ll be off now.” 

 

And with that, they disappeared just as quickly as they had come.

 

Marinette held back a sigh of relief. She wasn’t out of the waters yet, as only she knew(suspected) where Adrien was. She turned back to her friends.

 

“I hope he’s alright!” She said, trying to sound as worried as possible. She funneled some of her concern for the cat in the bag into her tone, hoping it would be enough to convince her friends. “I can’t imagine if something were to happen to Adrien!”

 

Adrien was afraid something like this would happen. Of course his father would call in the cavalry at his sudden disappearance, or rather make Nathalie do it for him. Alya turned to the cat with narrowed eyes. “You guys know I was joking, right?”

 

“Wha?” Marinette asked, feigning ignorance. At least Alya HAD been joking, Marinette couldn’t afford for others to find out. While hunting the Akumas had been all fine and dandy, now that Papillion was gone, Chat and she had been hunting corrupted witches and warlocks, and other mythical creatures. The only problem was, while some were made evil by items known as a Focus, others were normal, everyday people with less than normal powers not unlike the miraculous. If they revealed the bad things that the witch had done, it would be possible that not only would those with a Focus would be hunted down, but that  _ all  _ people with powers would be hunted down.

 

It was a risk they couldn’t take.

 

And so for now, Chat had to stay hidden. Marinette let out a huge yawn, trying to change the subject.

 

“You guys don’t think Adrien got in any serious trouble right?” Nino asked rubbing the rim of his hat in a nervous habit, concerned for his best friend. “He’s not really the kind to just… Vanish.” 

 

“I’m sure he just fell into a deep slumber after he ate a poisoned apple from Chloé. He needs you to go and wake him up with true love’s kiss, Marinette.” Alya tried to lighten the mood, wiggling her eyebrows.

 

“A-A-A-A-A-A-A-Alya!!!!” Marinette screeched, the joke seeming even worse when she knew that Adrien was probably  _ right there. _ “Quit it!”

 

Her face went all shades of red, and she covered it with her hands. “I’m letting you know now that I’m going home after lunch. Not feeling well and can’t stay awake. There is no way I am taking that giant test like this.”

 

Alya gasped dramatically. “Could it be that you’re actually hiding him and you’re leaving early to go smooch him into oblivion?”

 

Adrien wondered in embarrassed horror how Alya could be so spot on without even realizing it. He buried himself further into Marinette’s bag in an attempt to hide.

 

“Nope, I’m done. I am revoking your best friend privileges, Alya.” Marinette said matter-of-factly, before turning to sit at her desk, facing slightly away from her. The picture of pout. She used the moment to peak in her bag at Chat.

 

“Minou? Can you... I’ve got a wild guess here and I need you to confirm it...” She whispered uncertainly. “Are you... Are you Adrien?”

 

Adrien was too shy to show his face after Alya’s comments. “Yes.” Plagg’s nonchalant response only made it worse. This was it. This was how he died, of pure embarrassment in front of his Lady.

 

Marinette had to practically slam her bag shut as Chloé walked up. “Talking to your stuff now, I see. And here I thought you were at least somewhat sane. I guess even I can be wrong.”

 

Marinette just rolled her eyes, too tired and too embarrassed to deal with the blond. “Go away Chloé, I’m trying to have a meaningful conversation with my bag here, and your snob is so loud that I can’t hear anything.”

 

At the sound of Chloé’s nasally voice Adrien’s ears shot up from their spot where they were previously glued to his head. He never liked her attitude towards his friends but he definitely wasn’t in the mood to ignore her bad mouthing his Lady anymore at the excuse of her being his first friend. He tossed caution to the wind and poked his head out of the bag, biting the offending teen’s ankle with full force before quickly hiding back.

 

“Oww! Something bit me!” Chloe screeched, her high pitched voice grating. 

 

“What, your ego?” Marinette responded, without thinking. She was tired, grumpy, and just wanted Chloe to go away. However, when the blonde pulled up her leg to show off the impressive wound, she knew it would be a while before she could shake this one off.

 

“No you idiot, like a snake or something! Just look!” 

 

“Oh wow,” Marinette said, her wince not forced. “Maybe you should have that looked at. It might scar.”

 

“Nooo! My beautiful skin! I can’t have a scar! I’m too perfect!” Chloé limped off towards the nurse’s office, leaving Marinette impressed with her luck.

 

“You should keep that cat.” Alya mumbled in utter astonishment as she watched the other girl leave.

 

“I just might...” Marinette answered, shock lining her own words. “Though I was hoping he’d try to stay hidden...”

 

The teacher finally came back into the classroom, starting the class. Marinette managed to stay awake for the whole class, thankfully, but she wasn’t quite so lucky in her next one. Fortunately, it would seem the principal had talked with the teacher though, so she was just gently woken back up instead of made a spectacle of.


	4. That New Cat Smell

It was  _ finally  _ lunch, and Marinette was free. Thankfully, since she had made it to lunch, she was able to walk home. So, on her way home, she went to the local grocery store to grab some cheese and some sort of food for Adrien.

 

“Umm... What should I get for you?” She wondered aloud, looking at him.

 

_ Please give me something sweet.  _ Adrien’s thoughts shouted but instead what was heard was Plagg’s loud “Cheese!” and the cat hung his head in defeat. He would much rather starve.

 

“Not you. I’m gonna have to try and stick to meat for Ad-Minou. I don’t want either of you to get sick, and I just don’t know what all you can eat right now. Plagg, do you know what Adrien’s favorite  _ meat _ is?” Marinette asked, trying to hold a level head.

 

“The cheese covered kind.” The cat kwami replied and laughed at his Chosen’s hissed response. “Fine, fine. Kid isn’t a stranger to the lean meats but if you ask me he’s got a bit of a sweet tooth.” 

 

_ Yes! Plagg I love you, I’m buying you a whole wheel of the stinkiest Camembert when all of this is over! _

 

“Alright, thank you. They don’t allow pets  _ or  _ bags inside, so you’ll have to wait at the front of the store. I’ll try to be quick.” Marinette said, rushing into the store. She went for the easy stuff first, grabbing the cheese quickly. Then she went over to the meat section, trying to decide on what to get for Adrien.

 

_ ‘What can I do for both a sweet tooth and carnivore?’ _ She thought, parsing through the selection. She then remembered a little chinese takeout place that wasn’t too far from her place that sold honey chicken. She pretty quickly was able to checkout with the half pound of camembert, wincing a little at the price of the gourmet cheese.

 

She was extra careful when she picked up her bag, not wanting to jostle those within too much. “I just got the stuff for Plagg here, we’ll get yours down the street, Chaton.”

 

Adrien’s ears perked up and he poked his head out, rubbing it into Marinette’s side in a show of thanks, not knowing how else to convey his gratitude for her help. 

 

“Um, before we go though... Should I...” Marinette looked down, starting to get really nervous. “Should I... shouldIgetcatlitter?”

 

The cat froze after processing her words as Plagg simply cackled at the top of his lungs risking their hiding place. “Oh I didn’t think this could get any better!” The kwami bellowed. Adrien simply did his best to shake his head however he could, looking more like he was awkwardly headbanging than anything. He’d cross that bridge when he inevitably came to it but  _ definitely _ not like that.

 

“Okay.” Marinette squeaked out, leaving the store behind with her head low. She practically shuffled down the street, making her way over to the chinese place with cat in tow. She was already almost there by the time her mortified flush started to fade.

 

“I can take my bag in here, so just... Stay hidden.” She said, still somewhat embarrassed. It thankfully didn’t take long for her to get a decent amount of food and be on her way.

 

When they made it to Marinette’s bedroom Adrien jumped out of her bag all too eagerly, finding someplace to hide underneath a dresser. Plagg followed him, mockingly asking if he had to go to the box and earning himself a scratch which he easily dodged.

 

“Hmm, this is some mighty fine cheese, it’d be a shame if something were to happen to it because  _ somebody  _ didn’t know when to leave well enough alone.” Marinette said to the air, pulling the camembert out of the bag.

 

She may have been the one to bring up the whole catbox thing, but at least she could try to get Plagg to drop it. 

 

The kwami immediately floated up to Marinette, stealing a corner off the cheese in one swift move. “Okay missy, I can take a hint.” The munching had his mouth otherwise occupied so at least he wasn’t making any more snide comments.

 

Adrien shyly stepped out into the open, head hanging low and avoiding looking at Marinette altogether. He didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable or anything of the sort and felt bad for this situation putting her through that. How was he ever going to make it up to her after this?

 

“Are you hungry, Minou? I’ll leave this out for you, I’m really tired.” Marinette said, looking around her room for a good spot to place the honey chicken so her parents wouldn’t see Adrien getting into it and get angry. She figured under her desk would be good enough.

 

When she straightened back up, she got really dizzy, the edges of her vision starting to black out a little. She was fairly unsteady on her feet, having to sit down and take a few deep breaths.

 

“Marinette...” Tikki flew out of her purse, concerned. “This spell on Chat... It’s stronger than we thought.”

 

“What!?” She exclaimed, worry for her partner racing to the forefront of her mind.  Adrien in turn looked at himself, trying to see whatever was wrong to make Tikki say such a thing.

 

“The miraculous... Both of your miraculous have been trying to undo the spell, meaning that it wasn’t as simple of a spell as I had thought. The witch had tried to turn one of you into her familiar.” The weight of Tikki’s words had Marinette’s head spinning. Familiar? But... She and Chat were partners, they were practically bound to each other! One couldn’t just be taken away.

 

“It’s alright, Marinette, no need to cry.” She lifted a hand up to her face in shock at Tikki’s reassurance. She was crying? “Plagg and I are bound together, and as our chosen, so are you and Adrien. The spell will still fade, because of you.”

 

“Me?” Marinette asked, wiping at her face to try to get all the tears that had gathered there.

 

“Yes. The reason you are so tired is because your body has been working so hard to restore Chat’s. I’m impressed! You two were made for each other! He should be back to normal within no time.” Tikki’s words caused her chosen to light up to a shade that rivaled her own tone.

 

If he were in his human form, Adrien would’ve certainly been blushing, instead simply looking away at the sound of Tikki’s praise and what her words really meant. His ears dropped down and he would’ve run away but chose to walk over to where Marinette was still leaning against her desk. He sat in front of her, feeling this need to beg her for a pet but resisting it, not wanting to cross any boundaries now that he knew how much she was already doing for her. He couldn’t be selfish all the time, she was obviously wearing herself out for him, without even realizing it.

 

He gathered enough courage to gaze up at her tired face, his pupils blowing up slightly when green cat eyes met her bluebell ones. Adrien wanted to tell her how he felt, and that no matter how she felt in return he would always be there for her. It was the least he could do after everything she’d done for him. Sadly, all he managed to voice was a mewl.

 

“As long as it’ll be okay. He’s- he’s  _ mon  _ Minou. No witch is ever gonna take that from us.” Even as she usually hesitated to say things like that, to speak for other people, as she looked Chat in the eyes, she knew it was true.

 

He was her cat, and she was his ladybug. They belonged to each other. 

 

She reached out for him, scooping him up into her arms. Getting up to her bed seemed like too big an effort, so she climbed into her nice chair, curling up around Adrien. She was asleep within moments.

 

He snuggled into Marinette, basking in the warmth that enveloped him, the sweet scent of fresh pastries and something else that was distinctly her. Closing his eyes he felt an overwhelming calm taking over, certain that that was also because of her. His mouth stretched open in a yawn and he settled himself comfortably in Marinette’s arms. His mind drifted into darkness with thoughts of doing this more often after he turned back into himself, if she wanted it of course.

 

Adrien startled awake to the sound of something falling, ready to pounce at whatever the threat might be. As it turned out Marinette had simply pushed a pillow onto the ground after shifting in her sleep.

 

He didn’t know exactly how long it had been since he’d been hit by that potion but one thing he was sure of. He couldn’t ignore nature’s call forever. Dread loomed over him like a dark storm cloud, threatening to burst at any moment, quite literally. Wiggling out of Marinette’s hold but careful not to wake her up he darted straight to the bathroom. He might physically be a cat but he still knew how things worked, he could very well do this. It would be easy, just do what he had to do, flush it away, how hard could that be? He was capable of pulling a lever.

 

And he did pull it. And it did work like he intended it to. But his back paws decided that staying in place wasn’t a thing they were willing to do and slipped backwards. Now a thing he knew about cats was that they didn’t like water. Long fur and sogginess were not a good mix, that’s for sure. As much as he wanted to keep quiet and let Marinette sleep, he wasn’t able to stop the eardrum rupturing screech that left him as soon as he fell into the bowl. It certainly didn’t help that the toilet was still flushing and the feeling was just  _ wrong _ .

 

He jumped out as quickly as he could but the damage was done. He was completely wet from the neck down, squirming and slipping on the tiled floor in frightened shock. He tried to shake the water off of himself but all he managed to do was spray it into the walls and floor. Adrien thought this was a new low for him and he hoped that he wouldn’t be losing any more dignity any time soon or he’d undoubtedly disappear into a puddle of shame. He only wished that Marinette hadn’t heard anything in her deep slumber and he could just wait it out and air dry until he didn’t look like a soggy rat.

 

But of course the universe had other plans, because if Marinette missed his loud scream she would certainly wake up from Plagg’s annoying laughter when he found the source of the commotion.

 

Marinette jolted awake in a panic when she heard the upset yowl of her partner. She pushed past her exhaustion, sitting up and trying to figure out where her Minou was through a groggy fog. A raucous laughter alerted her of his position, and she rushed over to the bathroom.

 

Chat was sopping wet, the picture of miserable. It didn’t take long for Marinette to figure out what had happened.

 

“Oh dear. Let’s- let’s get you washed off and dried, Chat.” She rushed over to the tub, turning it on and getting it to a nice, decently warm temperature.

 

Adrien didn’t miss the fact that she called him by his superhero name, even though Plagg had already confirmed his true identity to her. He wondered if she was having a hard time accepting that Adrien and Chat Noir were one and the same. Perhaps she didn’t really like the idea of it. His ears drooped in sadness.

 

Marinette turned back to her partner when she got the water to a good temperature. She noticed his defeated posture, and started to flounder a bit. “U-uh, if you want I can g-go.”

 

He blinked up at her before turning to face the tub slowly filling up with water. As much as he wasn’t fond of the idea of another soaking, he didn’t exactly want to marinate in toilet water for much longer and he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to wash it off on his own. Adrien was embarrassed about having her bathe him, sure, but which was worse, subjecting himself to a possibly wonderful bath at Marinette’s hand or stinking to high heavens until he could actually take a shower himself? Not a tough choice, he gathered.

 

He wasn’t sure, however, of how he could convey that decision to her without actually rubbing himself against her legs. And he wasn’t about to dirty her trousers too. Always helpful, Plagg floated up to Marinette, sitting at her shoulder. “Just do it. Then you can brag to your friends you gave Adrien Agreste a bath.” He chuckled, poking her cheek.

 

Marinette whined, hiding her face in her wet hands. “Stooop.” She pleaded.  Adrien was torn between feeling flustered or disappointed by her reaction.

 

She looked to Adrien, and seeing him approaching the tub, she braced herself. This was going to happen, apparently. She, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, was going to wash off Adrien Agreste because he  _ fell in a toilet _ .

 

What was wrong with their life?

 

Oh, right. They were magical superheros. Adrien Agreste was her superhero partner.  _ Adrien Agreste was her superhero partner _ .  _ And he had seen her without pants on. _

 

She suddenly went redder than her kawmi. She could no longer brace herself. She slammed her head down on the edge of her tub somewhat painfully, trying to get the memory out of her head.

 

Adrien jumped backwards in shock at his classmate’s sudden outburst. Was something wrong? Did something happen for her to suddenly do that? Was it his fault? This was probably too much for her to handle. He suddenly felt horribly about being so much of a nuisance.

 

With his tail tucked between his legs and his ears flat against his head, the soggy blonde cat cowered in a corner, unable to hide the guilt he felt.

 

_ Thump. Thump. _ Marinette gave up after two more bumps of her head and still having the memory stuck in her head. A whine started to sneak out of her throat. “My crush saw me without pants ooonnnnnnnnnnnnnn!”

 

_ Thump. Thump.  _ Back to the thumping.

 

“Uuh kid? You’re gonna give yourself a concussion.” Plagg muttered with a hint of concern in his voice. “Tikki! I think your human’s broken!”

 

_ Thump. Thump. _

 

His wielder on the other hand stopped all brain function altogether, his body frozen still and eyes wide.  _ Did… Did I hear that right? _ At the sound of Marinette’s continued self-harm he broke out of his stupor, rushing to her in an attempt to make her stop. He slipped trying to stop before hitting her, ending up bumping into her leg anyway, albeit not as hard as he had that morning.  _ Stupid, stop running into her!  _ He scolded himself, his mind reeling to try and find a way to grab her attention and coming up short.

 

So he did the only thing he could think of and jumped into the filling tub with a splash and a disgruntled wail.

 

When water splashed on her, Marinette was jolted out of her stupor. She looked up, meeting  _ Adrien’s _ gaze. She hadn’t thought her face could get any hotter, but in that moment, it certainly did. She closed her eyes, took a couple deep breaths, and told herself that this was also Chat. This was Adrien, but this was also Chat.

 

She could deal with Chat, she fought alongside him, worked alongside him. She might be a flustered mess around Adrien, but she was used to dealing with Chat.

 

With that in mind, she opened her eyes, and grabbed a cup. She gently started to wash off Adrien, doing her best to respect his space.  He couldn’t help but start purring contentedly. It didn’t take too long, as nothing unpleasant had dried or caked into his fur, and she was almost disappointed when it was over. However, she simply reached over to pull out the plug, did one last rinse, and grabbed a towel.

 

Then, she used her knowledge with her aunt’s cat’s to her advantage, hoping to avoid a mess. “If you’re going to shake off, wait a sec.” She said, drawing the shower curtain closed for a moment. She had known many a cat, and many a dog, who would shake off after getting wet, and she didn’t want a  _ second _ wet mess in her bathroom.

 

He did as he was told, trying to get rid of most of the unpleasant dampness then waited patiently for her to open the curtain again. This wasn’t so bad. When she approached him again, he noticed a reddened bump on her forehead where she’d been hitting it and meowed sadly.  _ You shouldn’t do that to yourself. _

 

“Hmm, this?” Marinette asked, pointing to the red spot on her forehead. “It’s not a big deal, I was just being silly. Now let’s get you dried off.” She said, attacking him with a towel and using it to pick him up and carry him out to the chair that they had been sleeping on earlier. She used it to pet him and dry him at the same time, hoping to make up for worrying him.

 

His purring only got louder with each second that passed, Marinette’s pets feeling wonderful to the point where his thoughts were just the mental manifestation of exclamation points. He had no other way to describe it. By the time she put the towel away he couldn’t hold back the disappointed whine, shaking off again at the uncomfortable feeling of not being completely dry despite not being dripping wet either. _Am I poufy. I feel poufy._ _It feels just like a bad hair day._

 

Without thinking about it, he found himself licking his wet paws to try and get rid of the feeling. As soon as he realized what he was doing he stopped, his tongue hanging halfway out of his mouth and his back paw dangling in front of his face.  _ Okay that’s weird. Cats have no right being this flexible. _

 

“Aaaand 32. Took you a whole 32 seconds to realize what you were doing.” Marinette said with a sleepy giggle. “I have to admit though, being able to lick all four feet dry that fast is pretty good, Minou. Might even be a record.”

 

He drew back his paw slowly, feeling self-conscious as he settled into a sitting position. Plagg sat on his head and pointed down at his stomach. “You missed a spot.” He mocked, taking a bite of the piece of cheese he’d brought with him. Adrien rolled his eyes, noticing he was quite hungry when he saw the kwami eating.

 

Unceremoniously tilting his head to get the black cat off, he moved towards where Marinette had left him his food, cautiously nibbling at it. He closed his eyes, appreciating the rich flavours and once more making a mental note of returning the favor to his friend for everything she’d done.

 

Marinette yawned, this time crawling up to her bed. As she started to drift asleep, the sound of Adrien munching on his food left her thinking. He truly was amazing. He seemed to have taken to being a cat with relative grace, rolling with many aspects of the felines. And he’d done it unthinkingly for her. She had been in danger, and he had jumped.

 

He was amazing. She had to do something for him, to make it up to him. She just didn’t know what.

 

“Hey Tikki, is there anything I can do to break the spell faster?” She asked, half asleep.

 

“Just sleep, Marinette.”

 

A few moments later he eyed the cat bed, figuring he should let Marinette get her rest without bothering her. But when he looked up at her bed, a fluttering feeling settled in his stomach and he just couldn’t ignore it. He swiftly climbed up the stairs and laid down by her feet, this time resting atop the sheets to avoid another scare.

 

He heard the trapdoor open and lifted his head to see Sabine and Tom checking in on their daughter. They smiled when they spotted her resting peacefully, sending a wink at the unsuspecting cat. Adrien blinked at them in confusion, watching them disappear back into their home with quiet laughs. He decided not to dwell on the suspicious behaviour much longer, resting his head on top of Marinette’s foot and closing his eyes.


	5. A Weakness to Cute Things

Marinette didn’t know how long she slept, just that it was probably a few hours. Her stomach was rumbling with hunger. Her feet were also pretty warm and cozy. 

 

Somewhat confused at that last part, she looked down at the foot of her bed. There, laying splayed out on her toes, was Adrien. He looked actually quite adorable. She reached above her head, and grinned in triumph when she was able to snag her phone from where it was charging without waking up the snoozing human turned kitty. 

 

The pictures might very well make good blackmail at some point in the future.

 

But alas, her stomach would not be put off forever, so she eventually had to push herself up and out of bed.

 

Adrien felt his comfortable pillow move and opened his eyes with a confused mewl, finding the source of the movement trying to leave without making a sound. So much for that. He stretched his front paws, claws inadvertently digging into Marinette’s duvet when he started pawing at it after stretching his spine as well.

 

He followed after her, narrowly avoiding the trapdoor closing on his tail when she unwittingly dropped it on him.

 

“Oops, sorry, Minou.” She said, reverting to his ‘name’ now that she was where her parents might hear. She walked over to the kitchen, checking the text from Alya that was waiting on her phone.

 

[Alya: You feeling okay, girl?]

 

Marinette had to carefully consider what to send her best friend, so as not to worry her too much about the fact that she might not be at school for a couple days. After all, she rarely missed school, then to suddenly miss because she was  _ tired? _

 

[Marinette: Yeah, just some weird bug or something. Super tired, but it’ll probably pass in a day or two.]

 

Tom heard movement in the kitchen and stepped out of his room to check on his daughter. “We left your dinner in the microwave in case you felt up to eating. How are you feeling?” He moved closer, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. “Want to tell us what’s wrong?”

 

“I’m not too sure what it is.” Marinette said, not fully truthful. “I’ve just been really tired. I’m sure it’ll pass in a day or two.” She weaved pass her Papa, checking how warm the food was, and giving it a quick few seconds to heat it up.

 

The large man put a hand to her forehead to check her temperature, finding her to be slightly warmer than she should be. He hummed in thought. “Did you catch the flu? You’ve got a bit of a fever honey.” He said softly, going to the medicine cabinet to get her some ibuprofen to help bring the fever down. “You should probably stay home tomorrow too.”

 

Marinette sighed. As much as she hated missing school, she knew that wouldn’t be feeling better until Adrien was back to normal. The flu would also be a great cover up for her illness. “Maybe. Yeah, you’re probably right, Papa. I love you.”

 

She took her food, sitting at the table and eating with as much gusto as she could manage. While she would be tired with the flu, she wouldn’t be  _ that _ tired, so she had to feign at least some alertness. And if she slipped some scraps of teriyaki chicken down to her partner, she doubted her dad would say much.

 

Tom filled a glass with water and put it in front of her plate with the small pill, placing a kiss on her forehead. “I love you too. Take this after you eat. And you shouldn’t be giving your friend’s cat bad habits, Marinette.” He scolded softly, but the smile on his face showed the playful tone he tried to conceal from his voice.

 

Adrien just munched on the offered food, trying to act as much like a normal cat as he could.

 

Once she was done with the food and had taken the offered medicine, Marinette darted back upstairs, only checking to make sure Adrien was following. She let out a sigh of relief when she was safely in her room. She let out a huge yawn, letting her shoulders slump for a moment.

 

“Man I’m tired. You’d almost think I’m the cat from how much I’m sleeping, eh, Adrien?” She said, lightly teasing.

 

He meowed in response, prancing over to her feet and laying down on his back. His tail swished from side to side, paws curling in a cute away as he stared up at her.  _ How’s that for a cat? _

 

Marinette had to hold her hand to her mouth to muffle a squeal.  _ ‘Cute cute cute Cute Cute CUTE’ “Cute  _ cute cute cute” She didn’t fully realize when her mental rant had started coming out of her mouth, but she found that she couldn’t quite stop it, even if she wanted. She was sure that if she were an anime character, her eyes would be in the shape of hearts.

 

“Model, cat, cat model. You could even be a cat model Cuuuteeeee.” The squeal finally burst its way free.

 

He would’ve blushed if he could, but given the situation, he figured that he might as well go for broke and really amp up the adorableness. Adrien started rolling around while purring loudly, vibrating mews leaving his throat as he rubbed his head against her feet in a show of affection. His tail made soft thumps as it hit the floorboards.

 

Marinette  _ broke. _ She spent a good time just staring, unable to move. It was Tikki’s laugh that finally broke her out of her trance. “You really are weak to cute things, Marinette.”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“Hmph, kid’s got a lot to learn in the way of cuteness.” Plagg interjected. “Now he’s just embarrassing himself, really.”

 

Adrien stopped what he was doing only to jump on Plagg. The kwami simply floated higher than he could jump and the cat sat down, glaring icy daggers his way as he was powerless to actually do anything.

 

“I think you and I have a different meaning of the word, Plagg.” Marinette said. She moved over to her desk, sitting in the chair heavily. She pulled at one of her projects, one that had been disturbed slightly when a cat had knocked it over.

 

“I think I’m going to try to get some work done before I go back to sleep, I should be able to.” She said, holding back a yawn. She started working with expert hands, putting each piece of fabric exactly where it needed to be.

 

Adrien sauntered over to her, worried she might be overworking herself. Even if she felt like she hadn’t done anything all day, it seemed to him that from what Tikki said she was working to bring him back with every breath she took. He figured she might as well rest to preserve her strength. What if there was an emergency and Ladybug was needed? He couldn’t do much to help her in this form and he didn’t want her getting hurt.

 

Jumping onto her lap he looked her in the eyes, wanting nothing more than to just be able to tell her to take care of herself. His front paws rested on her chest and he gave her little headbutts to her chin before nuzzling her neck, trying to distract her from work and hoping that’d be enough to get her to go get some sleep.

 

Marinette sighed, setting the hat back down on her table. “I’m guessing you don’t want me to work on this for some reason, Minou.”

 

She took the moment to her advantage, however, by pushing her chair back a little, and hugging the cat that was perched along her front. She gave a few ear scratches, before pressing a light kiss to the top of his head. “I get the message, I can go back to bed.”

 

She then realized what exactly she had done. She had subconsciously kissed her partner on the top of the head. And she... wasn’t all that upset about it. He  _ was  _ also Adrien, right? Her teenage crush. He was both Chat, the one who had been flirting with her for years,  _ and  _ Adrien, the boy she had been crushing on for years.

 

She was such an  _ idiot. _ Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh, but she had been turning down Chat for years, in the hopes the Adrien might someday return her affections. It was her fault that she had been turned down all along. Because she was doing the same exact thing to her crush.

 

“We’re hopeless, Chaton.” She said, before starting to giggle. In between her giggles, she pressed another light peck to the top of his head. She was tempted to do more, but she didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. Especially when he couldn’t talk about it.

 

Meanwhile, Adrien was on cloud nine. Marinette’s affections were his Lady’s affections, ones he’d been hoping for ever since he first laid eyes on her. He wanted her to keep going forever and when she stopped he let out a disappointed whine, pushing his head into the crook of her neck even further.

 

In that moment he made a promise to himself. He’d make up for lost time. The years he’d been pining over Ladybug all the while missing Marinette’s (now that he thought back on it) quite obvious signs of infatuation he was going to make up for openly loving this girl. He wished he could tell her now, wished she knew even without him saying anything.

 

“Waargh!” Marinette shouted as the office chair proved that it did not like being leaned too far back in by both human and cat. It tipped over, sending her reeling. She clung to the cat in her arms, protecting him from any damage.

 

“Ahh, are you alright, Minou?” She asked, nursing a slight hurt on her shoulder.

 

Adrien simply looked into her eyes, slightly stunned. He noticed her wince and gently laid his head on her shoulder, purring softly in an apology for her getting hurt on his behalf. 

 

Marinette blushed, holding still for a moment and staring at him. She then moved slowly to pick up the chair, favoring her arm. “Ohh that’s gonna be a pain for a couple days. I’m so glad that I heal faster thanks to being Ladybug. Do you do the same?” She asked, realizing that she had never actually asked him.

 

He looked at her, startled by her question and unable to answer her, so Plagg took it upon himself to do it for him. “Well, his suit is pretty good at protecting him in the first place. You’re welcome.” Plagg pointedly eyed the cat while saying the last part. “But Luck’s kind of Tikki’s thing, not mine. Only thing I can do is protect him from getting hurt, not so much fix it when it inevitably happens. That’s what Ladybug’s Miraculous Cure is for.”

 

Marinette frowned, moving over towards Adrien. She hovered for a moment, before scratching his ears. She couldn’t do much about it, but that really did seem unfair to her. Especially when he was always willing to take the blow for her. If it wasn’t for the Miraculous Cure...

 

Sensing where Marinette’s thoughts were leading Plagg floated up to Adrien’s side. “Look, without Ladybug, everything is pretty much lost. The destruction Miraculous is the balance to Tikki’s creation. You lose one, everything is out of balance, but it’s both my job and Adrien’s to protect you two. Like it or not, you’re the most important. We’re both willing to give our lives for you.”

 

“Then I’ll just have to make sure neither of us is in danger.” Marinette said matter of factly. She knew it was a tall order, but she couldn’t find it in her to care. Chat meant everything to her. She wouldn’t be able to fight without him. So, she would just have to make sure she was safer. Stop being so overconfident on the battlefield. She’d watch her step, and make sure Chat could focus on being her front guard. She couldn’t protect him from everything, she knew, but... 

 

She was so close to losing him last night. If the potion that witch had thrown had been deadly Ladybug would out one Chat Noir. And it would be her fault, because she hadn’t even thought to make sure the witch had been tied up right.

 

She’d protect Chat by protecting herself.

 

Adrien approached Marinette, mewing softly before jumping onto the desk and reaching for her hand. He’d still throw himself in front of anything to protect her if the need arose. He didn’t even think about it, it was pure instinct. Still, he appreciated her words and intentions. He cherished the feeling behind them. They were chosen for a reason, and they would carry the weight of that responsibility together. Protect each other and be there for each other like they always had, but perhaps a little closer. He hoped they could be closer.

 

Marinette scooped her cat up into her arms, before climbing up to her bed. “I’m gonna get some more sleep. You can take your normal spot as foot guard, Minou.”

 

She settled in, somehow feeling safer with Chat at her feet.

 

He heard her breathing steady, signalling she had fallen asleep. For some reason, sleep wouldn’t come for him that night no matter how much he tried to. After twisting and turning, trying every position he could think of to see if it would help he simply gave up, resigning to staying awake and entertaining himself elsewhere as not to bother Marinette.

 

But when Adrien looked at her face, a peaceful little smile gracing her features, he couldn’t find it in himself to leave. Instead he moved closer, carefully and quietly, crawling under her sheets and snuggling into her stomach, his head coming to rest on one of her arms. He felt better there somehow. Safer, at peace. At home.

 

It was a feeling he had forgotten a long time ago.

 

Marinette woke up warm and comfortable, snuggled in a strong pair of arms. She felt a little tired still, but better than she had before. As she shifted, pressing into the warm chest in front of her, something nagged at the back of her mind. She was too comfortable though, and waved it off.

 

A pair of lips brushed against her ear, tickling her. “Morning, princess.” A soft voice whispered sweetly, before leaving a butterfly kiss on the skin beneath her earlobe.

 

The nagging rushed back full force, and she slammed her eyes open. There, in all his human glory, was Adrien. In her bed.  _ Kissing her. _ “A-am I d-d-dreaming?” She squeaked out.

 

Adrien’s chest rumbled with a human adaptation of a purr. “Well that depends, am I the man of your dreams, my Lady?” Perhaps it was the grogginess of sleep that emboldened him, but he managed to utter the words without his face flushing even a shade darker.

 

“Yes?” She whispered, the honest answer. “Though your hair... Isn’t that great.” Still honest. His hair was worse than it was even as Chat. She reached up, running her fingers through it to try and tame the crazy locks.

 

“Me-ouch.” He smiled fondly, closing his eyes at the feeling of her fingers in his hair. If he thought her petting him as a cat was wonderful… Oh man, there were no words for how  _ this _ felt. “Did you think looking this good on a daily basis was just God’s given gift? I’ll admit, I’m not terrible to look at but I do try hard.” He mumbled, channeling Chat’s flirtiness into his words while moving closer to her face.

 

He realized with a jump that he might be acting a little too forward, moving backwards suddenly and looking away with a blush crawling up to his cheeks. “S-sorry, I d-didn’t meant to… To be so…” He cleared his throat, bringing a hand up to run his fingers through his tousled hair. “Sorry.” He said again.

 

“No! It’s fine! You’re perfect! I mean- you don’t have to try to be perfect- I mean uhhh” Marinette stuttered, some of her typical nervousness coming out when being met with the face of her crush. She shut her mouth with a  _ click  _ before reaching forward to kiss Adrien. On the mouth.

 

It was a short kiss, really. Just a peck. She did it just to get him to cheer up. To show that she was okay with his flirting?

 

Adrien was left staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, his brain momentarily short-circuiting from the electric shock her lips sent throughout his entire body. After what she’d done finally sunk in, his hole face took up a deep red tint and he covered his face with his hands. A high pitched noise formed in his throat, a frequency he was certain only dogs could actually hear.

 

_ She kissed me. On the lips. Are they still tingling? They feel tingly. Mon Dieu, she’s going to be the death of me. _

 

The boy took a deep breath, peeking at her through his fingers. The lovely shade of pink looked gorgeous on her cheeks, her unruly hair pointing in every which direction equal parts adorable and hilarious and her lips… He swallowed hard.

 

Propping himself on one elbow and feeling his face on fire he hovered closer to her. “Can I kiss you?” He asked for her permission, his voice low, breath brushing against her cheeks.

 

“U-uh Ma-maybe after we’ve gotten out of my bed, Chaton.” Marinette said, feeling very hot all of a sudden. She realized that perhaps her bed wasn’t the safest place for a make-out session, and looking at Adrien...

 

He might not just want one kiss. So off the bed it was. She took the lead, prying herself up from the covers and out of his hold. She had to rush down the stairs from her bed, landing on her chaise with an omph. She turned to Adrien, nervous.

 

He rubbed the back of his neck before making his way down to where she sat. “Before… Before anything, I wanted to thank you. For taking care of me and everything. I’ll pay for whatever it is you spent, don’t worry but I just… I’m really grateful for what you did for me. And for trusting me with your identity. I know you wanted us to keep them secret for our safety and I just…” He trailed off, realizing he’d started rambling in his nervousness.

 

“I want to make it up to you.” He finally finished, holding his breath awaiting her response.

 

“Oh Minou... I did all of that because I  _ wanted _ to. I  _ wanted  _ to take care of you. And there was no way I was gonna leave you to fend for yourself when you had been turned to a cat because of me. Let’s not forget that part. It was my fault you were like that, it was the least I could do for you.” Marinette said, standing back up so she could be equal with Adrien. She hugged him tightly.

 

He embraced her in return, burying his face in her hair. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know she was gonna do that.” He assured her, winding his arms tighter around her and bringing her closer.

 

After a few heartbeats he leaned back just enough place a hand under her chin and lifting her face up to look him in the eye. He leaned impossibly close, still not going that last bit of distance between them. “Are you sure this is okay?” He asked again, wanting to make sure this was what she wanted.

 

“Yeah. I... It’s kind of stupid. I sat there for years, pining over this guy in my class. I thought that he was way over my league, that perhaps it was just because I was the baker's daughter in the class with rich and influential people. That he was being nice, but he’d never see me that way. I never thought that he was the same as me.” Marinette said, a faraway look in her eyes.

 

“Sounds like a snobby jerk, you should totally ditch that guy.” Adrien smirked, earning himself a shove in the shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, I know this guy, totally unrelated, dresses in leather catsuits, major weirdo. He was head over heels for this girl in red. Wouldn’t even allow himself to look at this beautiful, absolutely amazing girl in his class. Denied having feelings for her. Hopeless case I tell you.”

 

“Oh just kiss me already you crazy cat!”

 

With a gentle smile Adrien leaned closer, their lips nearly brushing together when he suddenly froze. “What am I going to tell my dad?”

**Author's Note:**

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